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S Jaishankar has sent out a word of caution to Bangladesh over its hostile behaviour lately and said that Dhaka has to decide on the kind of relationship it wants with New Delhi.
EAM Dr S Jaishankar cautions Bangladesh over hostile behaviour (Reuters Image)
External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar has cautioned Bangladesh against “blaming India for everything” that goes wrong in the country and said Dhaka has to decide on the kind of relationship it wants to share with New Delhi.
His remarks came days after he met Bangladesh’s Foreign Affairs Adviser Touhid Hossain in Muscat.
Jaishankar Calls Out Bangladesh’s Duplicity
Speaking at a public function, Jaishankar also advised the leaders of the interim government in Bangladesh to refrain from making “ridiculous” claims against India. His remarks come at a time when Dhaka has shown growing hostility towards India, since the exit of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August last year.
Pointing out the duplicity on Bangladesh’s part, the EAM said that Dhaka cannot talk about having good relations with New Delhi in one breath and blame India for every wrong thing in the country in the other.
“If every day someone in the interim government stands up and blames India for everything – some of those things if you look at the reports, are absolutely ridiculous. You cannot, on the one hand, say ‘I would now like to have good relations with you, but I wake up every morning and blame you for everything that goes wrong.’ It is a decision that they must make,” Jaishankar said.
Reminding Bangladesh of the “special history” it shares with India, the EAM said that the leaders in the country must “make up their minds” on “what kind of relationship they want to have with New Delhi, going forward”.
Jaishankar Expresses Concerns Over State Of Minorities In Bangladesh
The Minister flagged the communal attacks on the religious minorities in the neighbouring country and explained how it impacts bilateral talks.
“There are two aspects to the problem that our bilateral ties are facing – the first being communal attacks on minorities. What is very troubling for India is the spate of attacks on minorities. It obviously is something that impacts our thinking. It is something we have to speak up about, which we have done,” Jaishankar said.\
He said that the second aspect is their domestic politics “which you can agree with or disagree with, but at the end of the day, we are their neighbour, and they have to make up their mind on their outlook towards us”.
In a clear message to Muhammad Yunus-led Bangladesh, Jaishankar said that the Government of India has conveyed to Dhaka that New Delhi seeks a de-escalation of tensions. However, it does not take kindly to Bangladesh’s persistent hostile rhetoric toward India.
Jaishankar had told his Bangladeshi counterpart Hossain in the meeting last week that the country must not “normalise terrorism”.
